From Florida
Institute of Government & Department
of Public Administration, University
of Central Florida (Aug. 2003)

"Respondents
have high expectations for bicycling
and walking facilities that are not
fully met."

This
survey assesses the opinions of residents
in Florida Department of Transportation,
District 5 (FDOT-D5) concerning residents'
attitudes towards walking, bicycling
and the use of walking and bicycling
facilities for the purpose of assisting
in planning for bicycling and walking.
The FDOT-D5 service area encompasses
Brevard, Flagler, Lake, Marion, Orange,
Osceola, Seminole, Sumter and Volusia
counties.

Profile
of Bicyclists

1. Bicyclists
are found among all socio-economic
strata and demographic groups of the
population. 52.4% of bicyclists
are males, and 89.2% of bicyclists
are under 66 years. Hispanics, those
under 45 years, and respondents with
total annual household incomes over
$60,000 are more likely to bicycle,
and those over 66 years or with incomes
under $20,000 are less likely to bicycle.

2.
Among those who bicycle, two-thirds
(68.7%) state that they bicycle at
least once per week.

3.
Bicycling does not vary much by whether
respondents live in urban, rural or
transitional (i.e. suburban) settings.
The report offers that this may reflect
many suburban-style developments in
rural settings.

4. About
one quarter (26.1%) of households
have children under 18 years who bike.
Among respondents between 25 and 54
years, 43.1% have children under 18
years who bicycle, and children of
such respondents are more likely to
bicycle when the respondent also bicycles
(33.0% versus 48.0%).

Bicycling
as a Priority

5. Respondents
have high expectations for bicycling
and walking facilities that are not
fully met. 91.0% of bicyclists
and 77.1% of non-bicyclists agree
or strongly agree that they would
like their area to be among the most
attractive places for walking and
bicycling in the U.S. However, 87.9%
of bicyclists and 72.1% of non-bicyclists
agree or strongly agree that they
would like to live in a place where
more of their daily needs can be met
through walking and bicycling. Only
60.1% of bicyclists and 50.9% of non-bicyclists
agree or strongly agree that their
area is more attractive for bicycling
and walking than other places that
they know about. Also, 88.1% of bicyclists
and 71.4% of non-bicyclists agree
or strongly agree that they would
bike and walk for exercise more if
good facilities were conveniently
located.

6. Good bicycling
facilities make the area more attractive
for growth. 84.2% of bicyclists
and 70.8% of non-bicyclists agree
or strongly agree that good bicycle
facilities make it more attractive
for people to move into the area.
Also, 54.8% of bicyclists and 42.2%
of nonbicyclists also agree or strongly
agree that good bicycle facilities
make it more attractive for businesses
to move into the area. Variation among
counties on these items is minimal.

Purposes
of Bicycling

7. Almost everyone
(98.6%) who bicycles does so for exercise
and recreation, and one-third (33.5%)
also bicycles for other purposes.
These other purposes include running
errands (27.1%), going to work (7.4%)
or going to or from school (9.2%).

8.
Respondents want more opportunities
to bicycle to work. Among bicyclists
who work outside the home, 52.6% of
bicyclists would like more opportunities
for bicycling to work. Even among
non-bicyclists who work outside the
home, 35.9%, state that they want
more opportunities to bicycle to work,
suggesting that they might (again?)
bicycle.

Assessment
of Bicycling Facilities

9.
Most respondents are familiar with
bike paths and bike lanes in their
area. Respectively, 72.2% of bicyclists
and 46.2% of non-bicyclists agree
or strongly agree that they are familiar
with the bike paths in their area,
and 75.5% of bicyclists and 59.6%
of nonbicyclists agree or strongly
agree that they are familiar with
bike lanes in their area. Among bicyclists,
58.5% state that they have ever bicycled
on a state road in their county.

10.
What respondents like most and least.
When asked what they like most about
walking and bicycling in their area,
respondents most often noted scenery,
exercise, relaxation, being outdoors,
and paths. Some also noted the opportunity
to socialize. When asked what they
liked least, many mention traffic
and unsafe drivers and roads. Some
also noted the lack of bicycling and
walking facilities. However, very
few note weather, heat or bugs.

11.
Most bicyclists don't know whether
there are adequate bike paths and
bike lanes in their area. Respectively,
50.7% and 57.2% state that they "don't
know," and 55.3% don't know 3 whether
the network of bike paths and bike
lanes go to where they need them to
go. The report offers that this might
reflect bicyclists either not using
these facilities, not using them enough,
or not using enough of them. However,
among bicyclists with an opinion,
and who are familiar with such facilities
in their area, respectively 74.7%
and 70.8% agree or strongly agree
that there are adequate bike paths
and bike lanes in their area.

12.
Most bicyclists who have ever bicycled
along a State Road in their county,
or specific segments of a State Road,
"don't know" whether they are satisfied
with the bicycle lanes on these roads.
Respectively, 51.6% and 57.0% state
that they "don't know". This finding
is consistent with an earlier statewide
FDOT survey. Among bicyclists who
have ever bicycled on these roads
and who have an opinion, somewhat
fewer are satisfied than dissatisfied.
Respectively, 43.2% of those who have
ever bicycled along a State Road,
and 45.5% of those who have bicycled
along a specific segment of a State
Road, are satisfied or very satisfied
with these bike lanes.

Bicycling
Safety

13. Bicyclists
agree that the bike paths are safe
to bicycle on. Among those who
bicycle and are familiar with bike
paths in their area, 63.9% agree or
strongly agree that they are safe
to bicycle on, 27.9% don't know and
8.2% disagree or strongly disagree.

14.
Some bicyclists agree, but others
"don't know" whether it is safe to
ride on the bike lanes in their area.
40.9% agree or strongly agree, 45.2%
don't know and 13.9% disagree or strongly
disagree that it is safe to ride on
these bike lanes. Bicyclists who have
ever bicycled along a State Road,
or specific segment of a State Road,
also often don't know whether is it
safe to bicycle on or along these
roads: respectively, 61.6% and 58.6%
state they don't know. Among those
with who did not answer "don't know,"
respectively, 62.2% and 58.9% agree
or strongly agree it is safe to bicycle
on or along these roads.

15.
A large majority of respondents state
that fast driving vehicles make it
dangerous to bicycle along State Roads.
92.0% of bicyclists and 85.6% of non-bicyclists
agree or strongly agree with this
statement. Although many bicyclists
don't know whether it is safe to bike
on State Roads, they are clear about
what makes these roads dangerous.
Bicyclists and nonbicyclists alike
agree on this, and 79.5% of bicyclists
and 71.0% of non-bicyclists agree
or strongly agree that these roads
would be safer for bicycling if the
bike lanes were wider. Most respondents
who have ever bicycled on or along
one these roads are ambivalent whether
the bikes on the bike lanes are adequately
separated from the cars (58.6% don't
know).

16. Safe bike paths
and bike lanes increase their use.
Respondents who bicycle are 80.7%
more likely to ride their bike for
errands when they perceive that it
is safe to bicycle on bike lanes in
their area, and they are four times
more likely to ride their bike to
work. Respondents are 32.7% more likely
to ride a bike when they perceive
that riding a bike on a bike path
is safe. 62.8% of all respondents
state that they would use the State
Roads in their county more for bicycling
if the bike lanes were more accessible
and safe to use. 4

17. Bicycling
safety for children. Among respondents
with children under 18 years who bike,
54.5% agree or strongly agree that
it is safe for children to ride their
bicycles in their neighborhood
(11.8% disagree or strongly disagree,
and 33.7% don't know). Among respondents
whose children ride a bike to school,
60.2% state that doing so is safe
(33.4% disagree and 5.3% don't know).

18.
Support for law enforcement. Among
respondents, 93.1% agree or strongly
agree that police should give tickets
to motorists who fail to stop for
pedestrians in the crosswalks. Also,
95.7% of respondents agree or strongly
agree that police should give warnings
or tickets to bicyclists who violate
the law.

Other

19.
Respondents are ambivalent about whether
they are satisfied with the sidewalks
on the State Roads. Among respondents,
32.7% are very satisfied or satisfied,
40.9% don't know, and 26.4% are dissatisfied
or very dissatisfied. While few respondents
are dissatisfied with any single aspects
about sidewalks (such as safety or
availability), analysis suggests that
high levels of satisfaction require
high marks for safety, smooth surface,
separation from cars, safe crossings,
and availability of sidewalks.

20.
Funding priorities. When asked
for future spending priorities, respondents
provided the following allocations:
approximately 42.1% for sidewalks,
34.0% for bike paths and 23.8% for
bike lanes. The percentages are roughly
similar among bicyclists and non-bicyclists.

The
phone survey was conducted between
March 27 and May 22, 2003. Respondents
were randomly selected, and 1,821
surveys were completed, approximately
200 in each county, among respondents
18 years and over. The principal investigator
of this project was Dr. Evan Berman,
Department of Public Administration
(University of Central Florida). Wilbur
Smith Associates provided technical
support for this project.